State seeks grand jury powers

Ken Dixon

Updated 12:26 am, Tuesday, April 16, 2013

HARTFORD -- There have been 1,000 unsolved homicides in the last 10 years and state prosecutors on Monday asked lawmakers for a tool that could help them get answers.

On Monday, Chief State's Attorney Kevin T. Kane and his deputy, Leonard C. Boyle, told the Judiciary Committee that the state needs an investigative grand jury system similar to that in federal court. Under the legislative proposal, state grand juries would work in secret, gathering evidence that could lead to indictments, arrests and criminal trials. Witnesses who are uncomfortable being seen talking with investigators near the scene of a crime, could be safely questioned in a courtroom context with a Superior Court judge.

"This puts a judge into the middle of everything," Boyle said.

In Connecticut's current legal system, police conduct individual investigations and if enough evidence is developed, they will seek arrest warrants from Superior Court judges.

"I recognize other states do it," Rep. Gerald M. Fox III, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said of the grand jury process. "As far as those who raise concerns about an ability of a prosecutor to essentially go on a witch hunt -- and I'm not saying either of you would do that -- it's one of the concerns that's been raised over the years that that possibility would exist."

Boyle said he doubts there would be a constitutional problem, as public defenders contend.

"Is it possible that a prosecutor could go on a witch hunt,?" he asked. "Sure it is. We have to admit that. There are 1,000 families who don't know what caused the death of their son or daughter or husband or wife," he said.

"This would give us the tools we need to help those families find out who took their loved ones from them."

Currently, witnesses may decline to speak with criminal investigators. Under the proposal, which the committee has until Friday at 5 p.m. to vote on, those subpoenaed to appear before state grand juries would have 72 hours notice, would be allowed counsel and would be told whether they are a target of possible criminal charges.

"The most-important purpose of this is that the law enforcement needs to have the ability to investigate crimes and find out the truth," Kane said.

"It's just as important for us to learn that a crime never occurred, or that a person we suspect was not the person who did it. The purpose of the grand jury is for us to find the truth, not to go on a witch hunt or causes lies. The advantage of doing this is bringing in a witness who's not going to be in the back room of a police station or the back room of a prosecutor's office being questioned in private in a manner that might not be the best. I don't see any constructive claim and the idea that it's a witch hunt, is a red herring."

Is there a chance that a prosecutor would go to far? Yes, and there are multiple, multiple sanctions for prosecutors who do that.